The Long Road to an Old Friend
by Super Shadowhenshin
Summary: In an attempt to stop Lord Drakkon's newest alley the four Zeo Rangers travel to the distant planet of Mirinoi to find their old friend and reunite the team. Unfortunately, things get complicated by a strange monster. And the fact that Kat's departure might be more complicated then any of the other Rangers realized.
1. Chapter 1

_**This story is a continuation of the story present in Old Friend, New Threats.**_

Adam was more than a little anxious. He knew he should watching the NASADA officer's explanation to do if there's an external hardware failure but his mind was drifting elsewhere, towards the strange land of dreams-

"What do you think?" Tanya asked.

"Huh?"

The Yellow Ranger frowned and shook her head. "You haven't heard a word I said have you?"

Adam felt the blood rush to his face. "Do you want me to lie?"

Tanya sighed, "I was saying-"

"I'm here!" Hayley exclaimed as she pushed the doors open. Her face was pinkish and sweaty. It looked as if she had been running. "Sorry I'm late, I ran a quick diagnostic on the Dino Zords."

"It's alright," the engineer said, "I was just going over plan delta."

"Oh, external engine failure," she said coolly. "I read the entire manual last night."

The man seemed more impressed then he was willing to show her. "Well, that's good for you."

He proceeded to continue his speech, most of which Adam completely ignored.

"Is everyone ready?" The man asked. "Because once this ship takes off it won't stop until you reach Mirinoi."

Nobody had any objections.

Adam took another look at the ship before going in. It was actually amazing that it was built by the government. It didn't quite have the same feel as a Zord but it was something close.

"So we're sure this thing can make it through the wormhole right?" Rocky asked. "I mean as long as we don't explode I'll be good. I just figured it would be good to check."

The man seemed annoyed. "This is the most advanced spacecraft we've ever designed or manufactured."

"Yeah but I've seen better machines built by a five-foot robot and a head floating in a fish tank," Rocky mumbled.

The five all entered the ship and were greeted with a large metal table with five chairs and a primitive hologram projector.

Hayley walked past the four other crew members and went straight to the control room.

"I'm gonna go check out my room," Rocky said with a sideways smile. "I hope they remembered my waterbed request."

Adam sat in the Command chair and looked over the white table. "I feel like Captain Kirk."

"Who?" Tori asked.

"Excuse you?" Adam asked with a comically wide open mouth.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Tanya laughed, "I didn't realize you were _that_ young."

Tori did seem to catch the negativity in Tanya's voice. Or at least she was really good at pretending not to.

"Liftoff in five minutes," Hayley said from the intercom.

"Did she really need to say that?" Tori asked with a slight grin.

"Hayley won't admit it but she's actually having fun," Adam replied with a grin of his own.

"Oh my god guys!" Rocky exclaimed and he ran into the room. "Each one of our rooms has a fully stuffed mini fridge." Rocky beamed with a level of excitement only obtainable from the promise of a full stomach. Unfortunately for Rocky, his buzz didn't last long, because he fell hard onto his butt as the ship took off.

Adam and Tanya both laughed at the expensive of their goofy friend as the ship stabilized.

"I still can't believe this," Tanya said, looking out as the ground grew farther away.

"What do you mean?" Adam said, "This isn't our first time in space."

"I don't mean that. I mean Kat,"

"Oh yeah," Rocky said, "That's pretty crazy. I mean, she went to go live on a totally different planet and didn't even tell us. I didn't think their breakup was that rough."

The acknowledgment of Tommy and Kat's former relationship seemed to force a heavy tension over the group. Up until that point nobody had really talked about it, at least not together like this.

"I mean, does anyone even know what happened?" Adam asked.

Everyone shook their head.

"Well," Tanya said after a few moments. "Kat sent me a really vague letter a year after we graduated."

Everyone leaned in and mutually displayed a sort of, "Well why didn't you tell us?" expression.

"Don't leave us hanging," Rocky said, "Tell us what she said."

Tanya chewed on her for a few moments and rolled her eyes across the room, "Well it's all a bit fuzzy now," she tried to explain.

"It's alright," Adam said, placing his hand softly on her shoulders. "Just tell us everything you remember."

"She said something about having doubts, though she didn't say why or what they were about."

Tanya paused for a few more minutes before saying, "She also said she was looking for a new start. At the time I thought she was talking about going back to Australia, but I guess she went a little further than that."

"No kidding," Rocky muttered.

By then the ship was already well past Earth's orbit, and the blue orb was steadily getting farther.

"They say that getting to Mirinoi won't even take that long in this bad boy," Rocky said after a while.

"Yeah," Adam agreed, "I mean it's no teleportation but it's still years ahead of what I had assumed we'd be at."

Again an awkward silence filled the entire room.

This might prove to be a longer trip then Adam had assumed.

 **A/N: So here we are again, after another hiatus I'm back on track. Expect a chapter a week, maybe two if I'm productive.**


	2. Chapter 2

Hayley was fighting another wave of nausea. It came like a punch to the gut, causing an involuntary choke before trying to empty her already vacant stomach. This was her third run in with vertigo since the ship took off.

Sure, she had known people got seasick, but she had no idea that people got spacesick.

"Do you need anything?" Rocky asked from beyond the door.

"Nothing I won't throw up later," she barked.

"Can I come in?"

Hayley fought the spasms in her throat as her stomach danced around. "Sure…"

The Rocky slowly pushed the door open and went to Hayley's side. "I can get you something to help your stomach, I've heard Sprite helps."

"No, I'm okay," Hayley said.

"Don't be worried about being a bother," Rocky replied. "I'm used to it."

"Yeah?"

"My girlfriend's pregnant."

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Rocky said with a sheepish smile. "She thinks I'm visiting relatives,"

Hayley offered a smile, "I think I'm just adjusting to the whole space thing, I can't say I've done it before."

Rocky just nodded. "Teleportation is way worse. I thought my stomach had accidentally transported into my throat."

Hayley stood up after a few more moments. She didn't exactly feel like a million dollars, but she was at least stable.

"Thanks for the support," She told Rocky. "But somebody's gotta make sure the autopilot is working."

She moved towards the door but it was too late.

The ship had just entered the wormhole.

* * *

The ship continued to rock around violently as the wormhole swallowed them whole. The entire crew could hear it, pounding like a roaring river. The sound filled their ears like cotton, leaving little room for anything else.

Hayley fought her returning vertigo and tried to move across the ship. She fell to the ground and dry heaved more, but she continued to crawl.

If someone didn't stabilize the ship it could quite easily fall out of the warp stream, and then they'd be thrown into who knows where.

The ship took another violent jerk, crashing into what Hayley could only assume was either dimensional winds or the warp stream itself.

After a few more violent jerks and another vertigo spell Hayley managed to force herself back into the driver's seat and gripped the controls.

Thankfully they hadn't been shot out of the warp stream, but they got pretty damn close.

Hayley sighed as she adjusted the ship. Things went so much smoother with her in control.

Soon enough the ship stabilized and the empty drone of space returned.

Hayley was at a complete loss for words. She looked through the monitor and gazed at the empty void of space itself.

Floating impossibly through space, like a fisherman's bobber cast out on a still ocean, was the green jewel of Mirinoi.

The sight was so surreal for Hayley. She had spent so much of her childhood obsessed with pulp science fiction and Flash Gordon, now she was living out the adventure herself.

"We should enter Mirinoi's atmosphere in the next few hours," Hayley said over the intercom.

Suddenly Hayley was getting a transmission from the planet. She actually had to adjust her equipment to function with the primitive GSA broadcast.

"This is Mike Corbett of the Mirinoi Defense Force," he said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Hayley Ziktor," she replied after a moment's thought. "I'm here from Earth. Do we have permission to land?"

"You never gave us your reason for wanting to land."

"We're here by direct order of the United States government," Hayley explained, not entirely lying.

"Alright," Mike said. "But be aware that your visitors to this planet, the US government has no jurisdiction here."

Hayley sighed, she should have known that they might not be incredibly welcoming to newcomers. Especially after those few years of isolation.

After a few moments, Hayley received the coordinates to a proper landing location.

"Let's hope we can get Kat," Hayley mumbled and adjusted the controls.

* * *

From the foliage right outside of the city, the creature watched as the ship slowly descended. This was truly a unique sight, there hadn't been a spaceship since the humans of Earth first ventured to the planet.

The sight brought the creature a tremendous sense of joy. A spaceship could only bring one thing.

Fresh bodies…

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay I've been having computer problems**


	3. Chapter 3

The ship softly landed on the small courtyard right outside of the city. Even though the area appeared to still be under heavy construction Hayley was astonished. Most of the taller building were still skeletons, but that didn't take away from the fact they _had_ buildings that tall.

"Is everyone ready?" Adam asked as stood up. Everyone else looked amongst each other and nodded. It wasn't like there was much else to do anyway.

The door slid open and a man stood waiting. He was an Asian dressed in a Terraventure uniform, though it had a new badge ironed into it.

"I'm Kai," He said with a smile. "Mike thought I'd make a good tour guide for you all."

Adam reached out his hand. "I'm Adam," He said with a grin. The two shook hands but there was a moment of hesitation between the shakes. This was something Adam noted but tried to ignore.

"I'll take you guys to the MDF Center," Kai said. "From there you can talk to Corbett."

Kai led the group across the alien land. Native grass grew around each house, some resembled Earth homes made of adobe brick, while others were little more than huts. Some people drove cars while others led their exotic cattle across the street.

The posse didn't seem to generate any sort of interest from the civilians of the city, but Hayley seriously doubted that anything would really surprise them at this point.

"This place is amazing," Tori said, "It's crazy you've achieved so much over the past few years."

Kai shrugged, "You'd be surprised how easy it is to find motivated workers when there's nothing else to do."

The group stopped outside one of the few finished concrete buildings towards the center of the city. It was an imposing gray structure with large windows and a four-foot wall surrounding its perimeter.

"If you don't have much space travelers why is the place you send them so big?" Hayley asked as the approached the entrance.

"We're a small population of people living on a vast and alien world. We have more threats than just intergalactic ones."

Kai led the group inside of the wall and into the structure. Inside was strangely Earthlike. Familiar flora and pictures of famous landmarks lined the hallways as people in various different uniforms rushed around in their own patterns.

"Kai!" a girl in a laboratory uniform exclaimed. "We've made a breakthrough in examining some of the biomaterials from the last attack."

"Last attack?" Tori asked. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I never said this was paradise," Kai grumbled. "Tell the lab that I'll check it out as soon as I can."

The girl nodded and rushed off, so Kai continued their journey.

They all stopped at a large metal door and Kai input several numbers into a keypad. The keypad beeped and the door slid open. Inside the room was a single desk and a man standing calmly.

The man waved his hands in the air, gesturing for them to come in.

"Hello Commander Corbett," Adam said with a bow. Suddenly the door behind them slammed shut and locked.

"Save the formalities," He said with a smirk. "We're all Rangers here."

"What?" Hayley asked. "How did you know we're Rangers?"

"We could detect your Morphin energy," He explained.

"Wait," Rocky said, "You guys said that you're Rangers too?"

"Well, we were," Kai explained. "We were Rangers while Terraventure was still exploring the galaxy."

"Well that's good," Tanya said. "At least we have common ground."

Commander Corbett nodded, "Yeah, now you don't have to lie when I ask you, why you're here."

Hayley sighed, "It's a long story, but let me explain."

* * *

The creature could smell something _really_ delicious. It wafted up its nostrils and filled its head with an intoxicating rush.

It hid in the foliage as two females walked together down the street. They were laughing and carrying a bag of food and other plastic wrapped supplies.

"I think you should talk to him," One of the females said.

Blood rushed to the other female's face, "I don't think he was really that into me."

"Are you kidding?" The the first female asked, "He was totally checking you out!"

"Excuse me if I don't take your advice too seriously," The other female said. "When was the last time you talked to Zhane?"

"Hey that's not fair," The first female replied. "He's on an important mission. He hasn't had time in months."

"Clearly he had more time than you're letting on," The other female said and looked towards the first female's pregnant stomach.

The creature looked down at the pregnant stomach and licked its lips. That baby carried a special aura about it. Its D.N.A was truly alluring. It was a pureblood Kerovian, but there was something interesting about the concoction. It was a hybrid between a Kerovian mage and a soldier.

It licked its lips again and continued to wait. Sooner or later it would be all his.

* * *

Commander Corbett nodded. He had listened to the Zeo Rangers with a quiet understanding. "So you need Kat Hillard to use her section of the Zeo Crystal to beat this Ivan Ooze?"

"Yes," Hayley said. "Without it he'll continue to trash Earth."

"I can look up her address in the computers," Kai offered.

Suddenly an alarm blared in the room. Commander Corbett jumped up and punched a few keys.

"H-Help!" A female voice exclaimed. "Something jumped out of the woods and attacked us."

"Karone!" Kai exclaimed. "Where are you?"

"Outside of the south pavilion!" Karone said, "Hurry! Kat is trying to fight it off."

"Kat?" Adam asked, "Like Katherine Hillard?"

"We don't have time for twenty questions," Tori said. "We have to go help them."

"I'll give them a ride to the south pavilion," Kai said and ran out of the room.

The Earth Rangers looked amongst themselves and followed him out.

* * *

It's crazy how things can go wrong so fast. Kat thought as she kicked the strange creature in the face. It was a bipedal monster with a silver colored body with splashes of orange and a monstrous face. It snarled and lept towards Karone again, but the former Ranger managed to knock it back with another well-timed kick.

The creature hissed and expelled a green liquid. Kat dodged it just in time. Instead, it splashed against a nearby tree and began to dissolve it into a murky colored liquid.

"That's just disgusting…" Kat mumbled as she watched in horror.

Just as the creature was about to jump again it was intercepted by a speeding jeep. The vehicle slammed right into the monster, causing a large dent in the hood while also momentarily stunning it.

Kat looked at the crew and gawked in disbelief.

"How did you get here?" She demanded as the three Zeo Rangers, exited the jeep.

"It's a long story," Tanya said and smiled at Kat. Kat didn't return the gesture.

"That's an ugly monster," Rocky mumbled as the creature regained its senses and jumped back to its feet.

"It's nothing we can't handle," Hayley said and armed her Zeonizer.

"It's Morphin' Time!" She called as the other three Rangers followed her lead.

In a flash of light, the four Rangers morphed and rushed towards the silver monster.

The creature growled and swung its arm at the team. The Red Zeo Ranger dodged and swung her saber into the monster's chest.

"You…" The creature hissed in a gravelly voice. "You're even better…" It fired an orange colored blast from its eyes and knocked the Ranger down.

"I got your back, Hayley!" The blue Zeo Ranger said and jumped in front of the creature.

"Let me get you ladies out of here," Tori said, who was accompanied by Kai.

"What are the Zeo Rangers doing on Mirinoi?" Karone asked, watching as they dueled with the new monster.

"And who's the new Red Ranger?" Kat asked.

"I'll explain everything back at the base," Kai said. "I just need to get you guys to safety."

The creature plowed right through the Blue and Green Zeo Rangers and jumped on top of Zeo Red. "I can smell it growing inside of you…" The creature snarled. "The power is radiating through you. I need to have it inside of me." The creature opened its mouth and unhinged its jaw.

"Eat this!" Zeo Red screamed and fired a blast right into the monster's head. It fell to the ground and squirmed in pain. "Let's go catch up to the others!" She screamed and they followed the jeep while the creature continued to struggle.

* * *

By the time the Zeo Rangers made it back the base Kat and Karone were both sitting with Tori. They were all exchanging nervous laughter, with Tori telling them some stories about her former team.

"Dustin sounds like a real piece of work," Kat said. She looked at the four entering the room, though she seemed to be looking over Hayley. "I take it you're the new Zeo Red. Unless Tommy has taken to wearing a skirt."

Hayley shrugged, "It's sort of a temporary thing."

"So where is he then?" Kat asked. There was a noticeably uncomfortable aura to her as she asked. This was further extended by everyone's nervous expressions.

"About that…" Adam said. "A lot has happened since you left Earth."

"Is he okay?" She asked and sat up. Karone shot him a dirty look. Hayley didn't know much about the former Anstradama but she definitely had the atmosphere of someone who didn't like the current tide of things.

"He's not dead," Hayley replied, "Or at least we hope he isn't."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Kat asked.

"He probably got himself blown up," Karone muttered. "You know how those Reds are."

"To be fair he isn't a Red Ranger anymore. He's black." Hayley said.

"Since when was there a Black Zeo Ranger?" Kat asked.

"There isn't," Rocky replied, "He's on a different team."

"Figures…" Karone said. "From what I hear he did have commitment problems."

"That isn't the point," Hayley said. She looked to Tanya for support, but the Yellow Ranger seemed to be seething with some unknown emotion. "We came here to ask your help."

"W-What do you need my help with?" Kat asked.

"We need your Zeo sub-crystal," Hayley explained. "We have to bring them all together in order to defeat this monster named Ivan Ooze."

"You still have that?" Karone asked in an agitated voice.

"Is he what's wrong with Tommy?" Kat asked, ignoring Karone.

"Not exactly," Adam said, "But he works for the guy who traded places with Tommy from another universe."

"I'm sorry…" Kat said while holding her head in her hands. "This is a lot to take in at once."

"Let me make this easier on everyone," Karone said and stood up. "Kat isn't interested."

"Don't you think she should make that decision?" Tanya asked. Her normally cheerful expression was replaced with something hard and fierce.

"She already did," Karone said. "She just doesn't have the courage to tell you guys."

Tori put her hand on Kat's leg. "You don't have to go," She said calmly. "We just need your sub-crystal."

"Who will use if it I don't go?"

"I guess I could," Tori said. "I mean pink isn't exactly my favorite color, but I'll make due."

"Okay…" Kat said with a slow nod. "I'll get it for you."

"Great!" Rocky exclaimed.

"I just need to go home and get it."

"I'll come with you," Karone said.

"No, you don't need that kind of stress," Tanya said, looking down at Karone's extended stomach. "I'll go with her instead."

"I don't know if that's a good idea…" Kat said nervously.

"It's almost four," Karone added with a dark tone.

Kat looked around nervously.

"I have a Morpher," Tanya said, "And that thing is still out there. I don't want anything bad to happen to you Kat."

"Fine…" Kat said after a few moments. "We'll be right back."

* * *

Kat and Tanya walked silently through the street. Tanya had to appreciate how happy everyone seemed despite the heavy diversity. She figured Earth could learn a lot from these people.

"So do you live alone?" Tanya asked.

"No," Kat shot back with an angry expression. "I mean, not exactly…"

"Are you okay?" Tanya asked. "I know how you think girl, and I can tell that you're stressed."

"It's Karoneex," Kat said with a deflated tone. "We've been roommates for a while now, and she's great and all…"

"But she doesn't like the new company."

"It's a little more complicated than that," Kat said after a soft laugh.

The two stood at a modest two-story house. Kat looked at her watch and seemed to get nervous. She moved to the door quickly and turned the knob.

Tanya stood still. "Why'd you leave us, Kat?"

"What?" The former Austrian asked.

"Why didn't you tell us you were leaving the planet?"

Kat's face flooded with pink, "I tried. I just didn't know how to word it."

"We use to be best friends," Tanya said. "Let me at least try to understand."

Kat stood frozen with the door half open.

"Mom, who's your friend?" a voice asked from behind the two.

Tanya turned to see a blonde haired boy with a backpack strapped on.

Suddenly things seemed to be much more complicated than Tanya thought.

 **A/N: Deepest apologies for the inconsistent chapter lengths. Originally this was going to be lumped together with The Rescue, and sort of exist as a B-plot, but I realized that the tonel shift between the two narratives clashed pretty hard.**


	4. Chapter 4

Tanya was speechless, there was no question who the boy's mother was. Blonde, every bit as beautiful as his mother with a feminine face that reminded her of an illustration of an angle. He was probably about six.

"I- uh- I didn't know…" Tanya mumbled.

"Yeah," Kat replied. "That wasn't an accident." Kat looked at her kid and sighed, "Hey Troy, can you go inside, I'll be in a few."

Troy nodded and went into the house.

Tanya bit her lip, the question was boiling inside her chest. "Who's the dad?"

"Who do you think?" Kat snapped. Her tone was somehow sharp and dull at the same time. It was raw and deflated too.

"That's why you left, isn't it?"

Kat held her head down. "Do you wanna come in real quick?" Kat asked, "It won't take me long to get my morpher."

Tanya nodded. Somehow she had expected their old friendship to reignite the moment they met, but she had never felt so much like a stranger.

* * *

"So…" Rocky said when the air in the MDF base became too stuffed with silence, "How did you and Kat meet?"

Karone looked at Rocky for a few moments before she spoke. It was clear that she wanted to say something rude, but it was almost impossible to be rude to Rocky.

"The city started out pretty small," Karone said, "There weren't a lot of places to go at first. We kinda just ran into each other."

"I guess that makes sense," Rocky said, "I mean it makes sense that you'd be friends."

Karone raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

"You guys have a lot of in common. You both used to be Pink Rangers, and you both used to be evil…" As soon as Rocky spoke he realized he might have said the wrong thing.

Karone scoffed and shot up.

"Hey wait," Rocky said, "There's nothing wrong with being evil… I mean not that you're still evil… or that it even matters in the first place."

Then Karone fell forward.

"Oh shit," Rocky exclaimed and grabbed hold of her.

He wasn't exactly a doctor, but the moment his eyes caught sight of the wet spot running down her pant leg he realized things weren't going super well.

"Hey, uh, anyone a doctor around here?" He called out as Karone's screams bounced around the room.

* * *

Tanya sat uncomfortably in the overstuffed chair.

She couldn't take her eyes off young Troy.

He looked remarkably familiar, and not in a way she was comfortable with.

"So, uh, have any friends?" Tanya asked the young boy when he caught on that she was staring.

The boy shrugged.

"Huh, not much of a talker," She said to herself.

A real chip off the old block.

Kat stepped back into the room, a small cardboard box in her hand.

"To be honest I'm kinda relieved you guys are taking this from me," Kat admitted, "It's always sort have been my last connection to that life, and I'm excited to put it past me."

"Good," Tanya said, in truth, she was happy for her friend. She had a family, a child, a nice house.

But deep down she was kind of jealous. Tanya had never really gotten the option to settle down. She had been taken from her village as a child and thrust into the Ranger scene. After that she went into politics, traveling around the world and doing as much good as she could.

Sure, Tanya knew she'd made the right choice, and it wasn't one she'd change no matter what.

But a small part of her still wished she could.

Tanya took the box, feeling the familiar weight of it.

She took one last look at Troy. The boy had determined eyes, a powerful gaze that screamed with the fury of an eagle.

Or maybe a falcon…

Kat was giving her a strained look, but before the tension could break her phone started to ring. Kat jumped to the line and lifted it to her ear.

"I'll be right there."

* * *

It watched in silence and planned once more.

The last tactic had failed. And it was robbed the delicious bio-material it craved.

But things would be different this time.

The creature focused, it focused hard. Focused so hard large bubbles were starting to form across its back.

One of the bubbles popped and tiny bug creature the size of a robin fluttered around. It snapped its appendage in the air and quickly flew off. Going towards that intoxicating aroma.

* * *

The small hallway outside of the room was pretty tense, with everyone save for Kat and several medical professionals in with Karone.

Adam couldn't help but feel anxious, this wasn't a hospital, it was hardly even a base.

"She'll be fine," Tori said and put her hand on Adam's shoulder. Adam flashed a forced smile, and she smiled back. It was a warm expression, one that carried no trace of deceit.

Suddenly the doors tore open and Kat rushed inside, followed by Tanya and a young boy.

Tanya saw Tori's hand on Adam's shoulder and flashed an annoyed expression.

But thankfully for him, there were bigger things to worry about.

"How is she?" Kat asked.

Rocky shrugged, "Well we haven't heard any _bad_ news-" His eyes locked onto the kid and he grew silent.

Everyone grew silent.

"Ugh," Kat groaned, "This is Troy, he's my son. Now that's out of the way can we focus on the important thing."

Nobody rebutted, but there wasn't much to say anyway.

A new silence had fallen, twice as intense as before.

Adam wanted to catch up with Kat, he hadn't seen her in years, and he was sure that everyone felt the exact same way. But her expression was so hard and unapproachable. It was so much unlike how she'd been back when they were all teens.

It was crazy how a few years could make someone totally different.

Then the tension was broken by the worst of all sources.

The sound of sirens.

Kai rushed into the room, his face red and glazed in sweat. "I need every Ranger immediately."

"Why?" Adam asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think you better come see," Was all he said.

As Kai led them forward Adam couldn't help but notice the gun at his hip. He didn't remember the man having that previously.

And then he understood why.

Adam looked out the clear doors, a feeling of horror overcame him.

"What the hell are they?" Tanya asked.

"They look like… that _thing_ ," Adam replied.

"Yeah, but smaller, and totally _flying_ ," Rocky added.

About twenty of the creatures headed towards them. They were only about the size of birds, but their numbers were something to watch out for.

One of the creatures bashed itself against the door. Green blood smeared across the glass, and it quickly fell lifelessly to the ground. But it had hit the glass hard enough for it to start to crack.

Adam felt his insides go cold. He didn't know what those creatures wanted, but he knew that they would literally die to get it.

"Come with me," Kat told Tori, "We need to get Troy somewhere safe."

"Got it," Tori said.

Adam watched the two went off, and he couldn't help but notice how tightly Kat was holding her Zeonizer.


	5. Chapter 5

The four Zeo Rangers all busted through the glass doors, weapons raised and ready.

Zeo Yellow swung her clubs around wildly, knocking down several bugs with relative ease.

The Blue and Green Rangers stood back to back, each sharp shooting with their pistols.

"Gotcha!" Blue exclaimed as one of the creatures fell to the ground, sparks flying from its form.

One of the bugs spat a green liquid out towards the Blue Ranger, he quickly jumped back, and the ground in front of him began to burn.

"These little guys aren't messing around!"

"What do you think they want?" The Blue Ranger asked.

"My best guess is that they're after something _inside_ the building," Zeo Red replied.

"What makes you say that?" Blue asked.

It was then that one of the insects shot a blast of green phlegm that melted a hole in the concrete wall.

The Red Ranger quickly sliced it in half, moving in to protect the hole.

Another insect skittered across the ground towards them. It was roughly the size of a small dog and moved like it was an r.c car.

If not for Zeo Blue rushing to the scene and sliding it was his ax it would have jumped right for Zeo Yellow.

"You can thank me later," He said, "We have other things to worry about."

Fifty feet ahead of them more of the ground insects were charging forward.

"Do you think they're evolving?" Zeo Green suggested.

The Red Ranger replied darkly, "I think they're _adapting_ to us."

* * *

Back inside the building Tori and Kat led the young boy further down the hall.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Tori asked Kat.

Kat nodded, "We've been doing this for a while." Despite the concern on her face Tori was inclined to believe her. "The only one I can't vouch for is Hayley."

"She's stepped up," Tori said, "Before this, she was just their technical advisor."

"Is she good to him?" Kat asked after a strange blip of silence.

"Huh?" Tori asked.

"Tommy."

"Oh," Tori said, feeling her stomach tense. "I mean I don't know- I don't think they're together… nobody's said anything."

"Oh," Was all Kat supplied. "It's nothing against her," Kat muttered. "Tommy just isn't good at being alone. I think that's all he really saw in me at first."

"Shh!" Kai spat suddenly. His fingers twitched around his gun. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Tori asked, and then it hit her.

Munching...

* * *

Back at the battlefield Hayley fought with vigor she didn't know that she possessed. The Power propelled her forward as she sliced into another speeding insect, jumping away from a blast of acid, and shooting the assailant down with a pistol shot.

"Damn…" Zeo Blue said as he tore into more enemies, "Can these guys get any more annoying?"

"Shouldn't have said that…" Adam muttered, "That's always when something happens."

Hayley thought this was a silly superstition, but from her own experience, she supposed that it might hold some truth.

Of course, this was only confirmed when the next wave of monstrosities came forward.

The creatures waddling forward were probably the size of adolescent children. They carried themselves awkwardly upwards, with six legs on the ground like a cross between a centipede and a minotaur.

"Well, that's disturbing…" Zeo Blue managed to mutter before the newest creatures descended.

The three of the creatures surrounded Zeo Green, their mandibles chomping at the empty air. He swung his ax downwards, but the creature's hard shell prevented any cutting.

Zeo Yellow jumped down, clearing a path for him with her clubs.

"Thanks," He muttered, "I was about to be bug food."

"Don't cut yourself short," She replied, "You're doing fine."

"I don't wanna freak anyone out," Zeo Blue muttered, "But our blasters aren't working on these new guys."

"Damn it!" Hayley muttered, "I hate when I'm right."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"They're adapting to our weapons," Zeo Red replied. "Every new generation of insect will be prepared for whatever killed the last ones."

"So how the hell are we supposed to beat that?" Adam asked.

"We keep finding new ways to kill them," Zeo Red spat as several more centipede creatures crawled to the scene.

"Everyone, behind me," Zeo Red demanded.

The other three Rangers complied and moved to her side. She summoned the Zeo Cannon and each of the Rangers placed their hands on the device.

The cannon wouldn't fire at full blast, but Hayley hoped it would be enough.

With a blast of hellfire, the creatures in front of them were instantly vaporized into ash.

"Hell yeah," Zeo Blue shouted, "We gottem!"

"Yeah," Zeo Green said, "That's good and all, but what about _them_?"

The four Zeo Rangers all looked to the distance, where they saw several more creatures rolling right for them.

* * *

Tori armed her Ninja Blade as the first of the monsters broke through. Its body was hard and silver, seven sets of mandibles snapping forward.

Troy screamed out as the walls around them began to crumble.

"Zeo Ranger One!" Kat shouted, just in time to use her shield to bash one of the insect's away.

With her saber, nothing but a blur of metal Zeo Pink managed to fight off the onslaught of monsters.

From the side of her, Tori was nothing but a blue blur, generating sparks from the creatures and dodging their assaults.

The pure amount of power she displayed, unmorphed at that, was honestly insane.

Troy screeched again as one of the monsters jumped towards, Kat watched with absolute terror as the snapping mandible flew right towards him.

And then suddenly the creature's head exploded into a green mess of ichor.

Kai stood over the creature, his blaster red hot.

"They don't seem to be going after me," He observed, "Or even you."

Kat felt her stomach pang, she had noticed something was off but hadn't been able to place it.

"For some reason," Kai said softly, "They seem to be going after your son."

Kat felt her body freeze, static ran up her arms and collected in her guts.

She knew he was right, the small maternal drone told her so.

It didn't matter why she was going to keep him safe at all costs.

Another insect rushed towards them, and its head was immediately crushed by her shield.

Kat didn't even flinch.

The Pink Ranger knelt down, her shield in front of her face as she peaked up with her blaster, hitting one of the remaining creatures.

She didn't know how long she could keep this up, but she'd do it forever if it meant keeping her son safe.

* * *

One of the rolling monsters sprang into the air, unfolding into another insect that charged right towards Hayley.

Before it was knocked away by a flat object that sailed right over her head. She watched in confusion as the creature was knocked into a building, crushed under the force of the flying vehicle.

Two figured jumped from the vehicle, a Red and Yellow Ranger.

And Hayley actually recognized them from Tommy's archives.

"Sorry we're late," The Red Space Ranger, Andros, said, "I had to get Maya here from a remote village on the southern continent."

"Plus he's a little nervous about being an uncle," The Yellow Galaxy Ranger teased.

The two Rangers quickly melted into the Zeo Ranger's ranks.

"Hey Andros," Rocky said, "I've heard a lot about you."

"We can talk about the moon later," The Red Space Ranger hissed. "We have more important matters at hand."

There were a few seconds of hard silence from the Blue Ranger, "Continue…"

"I've dealt with one of these creatures before," He explained, "They're a sort of parasite, they feed on biodiversity, looking for unique cellular structures. These spawns are just puppets, and they'll die if he can manage to kill the original."

"How are we supposed to find the original?" Hayley asked.

"Simple," Andros said, slashing one of the monster's to mush with his drill saber, "We follow the trail."

The Ranger's flying vehicle sailed back to him and he hopped on top of it.

Hayley looked back at the team and hoped they'd be okay without her as she followed behind Andros and they sailed forward.


	6. Chapter 6

Hayley hugged onto Andros's midsection as they zoomed over the cityscape.

"Since you aren't Tommy," Andros said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Hayley," she muttered. "I'm Tommy's best friend."

Honesty she didn't know why she said that, but it sounded nice.

"Nothing… funny between the two of you?" Andros asked.

Hayley scuffed, "Why do people keep asking me that?"

Andros shrugged, "The dude's a charmer, least he is when he isn't being a pain in the butt."

Hayley was going to speak when suddenly the glider tilted hard upwards, forcing her to tense up and pull close to the other red ranger.

Once they stabilized Hayley understood why as several large insects buzzed around the two.

Hayley fired her blaster while Andros tried to steer, she managed to knock one of the insects down, but not before another came crashing towards them.

It landed on the side of glider and bit right into Hayley's arm.

Even with the protection of her suit, it hurt like hell, probably would have crushed her bones to dust as well.

Hayley closed her eyes and tried to focus, looking through the pain as much as she could. Her other hand ignited with red energy as she slammed it into the insect, breaking its exoskeleton and leaking out a horrid ichor that oozed everywhere.

She kicked its lifeless body away, watching it fall to the ground.

"I didn't know the Zeo Powers could do that," Andros said.

"Yeah…" Hayley said in between gasps, "Me neither."

* * *

The Yellow Galaxy Ranger slashed into one of the monsters with her Quasar Saber, slicing its head in half and causing its body to fall limply to the ground.

"I don't have time to keep fighting like this," She muttered.

"What do you mean?" The Blue Ranger asked.

"I'm supposed to be helping Karone give birth," She explained, "She trusted me to be her _Quena_."

Rocky nodded, picking up the subtext that she meant midwife.

"But Andros could only get me this far…" He could feel the disappointment and anxiety in her voice.

"Then what are we waiting for?" He asked, slapping an insect away.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean let's go get you to Karone," He replied simply.

"We're in the middle of a battle," She said, "We can't just abandon your teammates."

"Sure you can," Tanya said.

"These things aren't something to be taken lightly," Maya retorted.

"That's why you should hurry," Adam said.

Rocky nodded and grabbed hold of the Galaxy Ranger. "Come on, there's a future momma that needs you."

* * *

The two moved across the city, through skeletal buildings, and around construction equipment.

All while dodging the giant flying insects.

In that moment of clarity, Hayley was hit was a bazaar realization. This was every day for the kids. This danger, this heart-pounding intensity, was just another Tuesday. Not only that but they tackled this on top of normal student life.

She wondered how thin they were being stretched, and how much they could really take.

"We're almost there," Andros said.

"How do you know that?" Hayley asked.

"I've tuned my sensors to its energy signature."

Hayley had to admit she was impressed, this was a man that clearly knew what he was doing. Unlike the scatterbrained and often forgetful, this man understood his environment and how to interact most efficiently.

"Be ready," He warned softly. "We're going to have the element of surprise, but that won't last long."

Hayley felt herself tense up again, and her heart pounded.

She could hear the drums of war pounding in her ears.

Andros leaped from the glider, and Hayley followed.

* * *

Kat smashed another insect with her shield. More were pouring in, and it didn't seem like the numbers were showing any slow down. She could feel her body aching, but she didn't give in to the temptation to stop.

She couldn't afford to.

Another insect sped forward, this one was smaller, a rounder head. She slammed her shield into it as came in range.

And it merely bounded off.

She screamed as it pulled her downwards with its mandible. Her life flashed before her eyes, and she slammed her gun against its thick hide in desperation.

That was when she was faced with an even darker realization; the insect wasn't even after her.

Troy screamed as the creature came towards him. Her brain flashed through a million different scenarios, all of them horrid.

She felt its hot, slimy, body over her as it grabbed Troy. She heard his small body hit the ground, and he yelped. She could tell that fear had completely swallowed him because he turned silent.

She fought with everything she had, it didn't matter how much she ached, she didn't care that she couldn't breathe.

She wasn't going to lose her son.

Not like this.

Suddenly she watched as something punched through the bottom of the creature.

It stopped, and at first, she didn't understand why.

And then the creature was pulled away, and she was staring wide-eyed at a Yellow Power Ranger.

"Sorry Kai," The Ranger said, turning away from her to look towards the man behind her. "Couldn't pull your sword."

She watched as Rocky moved past her and towards Troy.

"Looks like you got a bit of a boo-boo," He said, looking at the gash where the creature hit bit his leg. "We'll get that taken care of soon."

He turned to Kai, "Get him to a doctor."

He nodded and grabbed Troy, lifting him in the air as they moved further into the building.

Rocky turned to Kat.

"How does the old suit feel?"

"We can talk about it after we exterminate these bugs," She muttered.

"I can get behind that."

Adam knew that they were losing. The insects were too fast, too hard, too resistant to their attacks. It would only be a matter of time before they completely overwhelmed them.

A creature jumped up to before he could react. It's mandibles flailing in anticipation of his flesh.

Tanya quickly battered it away, breaking away small splinters of its exoskeleton.

"Thanks," Adam said.

"Yeah," She muttered, "Don't mention it."

"Are you okay?" Adam asked, dodging the enemy.

"Yeah. Fine."

He felt his stomach turn, he looked over at the beast he was dueling. He knew that there wasn't time, but he had to ask.

"No really. What's up?"

"It doesn't matter," She snapped, "You would have noticed if you weren't up the ninja's butt." She slammed down her baton, actually killing the insect.

"What are you talking about?" Adam asked.

"Don't act like you haven't been all over Tori this whole time."

"Am I not supposed to be friendly with a fellow Ranger."

"You've been a little _too_ friendly, Frog Boy."

"She's a kid," He reasoned.

"She's an adult, at her prime too. Nice and tanned, really your type." She snarked.

"I'm sorry," He said chucking one of his hatchets into an insect and stopping it before it could charge her, "But Tori isn't my type."

"Yeah?"

"She didn't even know what Star Trek was!"

Tanya laughed, it wasn't hearty, but it seemed to relieve some tension.

"What _is_ your type?" She asked as he fought off the surge of monsters.

They were quickly overwhelming the duo, and Adam didn't think there was much time anyway.

So he spoke what was on his mind.

"I've always regretted letting you go," He said, his single hatchet in hand. "And I'm glad you're back in my life. Even if this might be it."

She stood by his side, "If we get out of this you're taking me out on a date."

"If we get out of this we can go on all the dates in the world."

"Deal."

* * *

Hayley landed with her swords swinging. Limbs flew from the various creatures and rained like confetti as they pushed forward.

Andros hugged close, his drill saber shaking off green fluid, and his blaster rapidly firing. His weapon was most effective because he hadn't been fighting long enough for them to adapt.

Still, even though they were making steady progress through their ranks they weren't moving at all.

"I didn't think I'd have to do this," Andros muttered. In a red light, a device appeared over Andros' arm. He punched a few keys into the pad of the wrist device and in a flash, he was covered in bulky metal armor.

Hayley was impressed, she hadn't seen a battlizer in person before. Maybe afterward she could study it.

Andros grabbed hold of Hayley and his wings extended, and they were in the air.

"Why'd we jump off the glider if we're gonna fly again?" She asked.

"This is much more stylish," Andros replied. "Plus this-"

The battlizer armor expelled a rocket that exploded the ground below them, blowing the creatures to ash and burnt flesh.

It was then they spotted the end and the familiar creature that started it all.

Andros dropped Hayley down and sailed after her.

Both blades raced across its chest, erecting sparks.

The creature hissed and slashed into her, shooting smoke and sparks of her own.

Andros came up from behind, his drill weapon in hand. Unfortunately, his armor proved too bulky and the creature knocked it out of his grip and punched hard into his chest, knocking him down and out of his armor.

The creature jumped on top of him, racking its claws against his armor.

Hayley felt something strange stirring in her stomach. It pulsed upwards, pushing through her veins.

It was like the power of Zeo armor, only more potent and raw.

She charged forward, both weapons drawn. She kicked the creature off Andros and swung her blades.

But the creature caught her swords and ripped them from her grip.

Sparks erupted from the creature and knocked it away from Hayley, she turned to see a recovered Andros, holding a combination of his drill saber and his blaster.

The creature hissed and ejected acidic spit that Andros barely dodged with a roll.

The creature growled and wings pushed out of its back and it glided at Hayley. "I will have what lays dormant inside of you…" It whispered, "The power will be mine."

Having the creature so urgently close, it finally allowed things to click into place.

And the power was unleashed.

Suddenly a golden aura enveloped her chest, the energy hardened into a shield, not unlike the one the original Green Ranger had. Though this shield was thinner, with a black and red grid to match the aesthetic of the Zeo armor.

Her fist connected with the monster, and it flew backward, rolling across the ground like a stone skipping over water.

She looked at her own hands in disbelief, awed by her own power.

"Here!" Andros yelled and tossed his drill saber blaster combo, now in its booster mode.

Hayley grabbed the weapon, feeling it absorb some of her own energy and begin to hum.

She aimed the weapon and pulled the trigger.

The blast was blinding, shooting out and hitting the creature square in the chest. Explosions tore across the monster as it tried to deflect the blast, sparks ripped up its chest and it began to squeal.

In a flash of fire, the creature completely combusted.

Hayley fell to her knees, her armor melting away completely.

"You okay?" Andros asked, "That was one hell of a move."

Hayley nodded, watching as all of the insects around them began to fall and lay still. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna be fine."


	7. Chapter 7

Karone sat up, despite the pain and the near encompassing fatigue, she wanted to hold her child.

"I'm surprised," Maya said, "I didn't know it would be a girl."

"I knew," Karone whispered, "Zhane had his doubts, but I didn't."

"Have you thought about a name?" Rocky asked. He looked around, noticing the cringe on the other Zeo Ranger's faces. "What?"

Karone smiled, all of the former malice on her face seemed to fade away. "Astrid."

"Not quite as flashy as Zhane would like," Andros joked, "But he'll settle."

The other rangers laughed, the air was filled with such a pleasant energy. The storm had passed, and everyone had survived,

Hayley looked over at Adam and Tanya, they were holding hands.

"What about you?" Maya asked her.

"Huh?" Hayley asked, not sure if she was missing something.

"What do you think the gender is?"

Hayley took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

Maya frowned, "Oh… you don't know yet."

"I- What?"

"This probably isn't the place you'd want to get this information," Maya said awkwardly. "But you're pregnant."

"What do you mean?" She asked, "You couldn't possibly know that, even if it were true."

Maya offered a weak smile, "I can sense it inside of you, the bud of life."

"No," Hayley said, "I'm sorry, but that's impossible…"

And then it hit her, like a punch to the face.

She broke into a run. She rushed down the halls, past the destruction and the recovering workers.

It couldn't be, she wouldn't let it be.

She stopped right outside the building, falling to her knees.

Tears fell down her face in hot streams.

She punched the ground and screamed.

She cursed his name until her throat was raw.

* * *

Adam didn't know what happened to Hayley, but he knew it better not to ask. She was silent when she returned and hadn't spoken since.

After visiting Karone the four other Zeo Rangers and Tori stepped outside.

"Thank you for doing this," Kat said. "It means more to me then you'll probably ever know."

"Don't mention it," Tori said. "I'd do anything for a friend, assuming we're friends now."

"Of course," Kat said with a smile. "I tried so hard to hide from this part of my past, but I can't. It's made me who I am, and you're my family." She looked down at her son, "I would have lost him if it wasn't for you."

"I still can't believe my mom's a Power Ranger!" Troy exclaimed.

"Was," Kat said.

"No," Tori said as she took the morpher and crystal into her hand. "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger."

"I like that," Kat said, "I'll remember that one."

A pink energy enveloped Kat. It pulsed for a few moments before being transferred to Tori.

"Feels weird…" Tori said, "But familiar."

"Well alright," Rocky said, "Let's go save the Earth."

The team all moved back towards the ship, where they found Andros waiting for them.

"I'm going to trail behind you guys in the Megaship," He said.

"Can't stay away from the action?" Adam asked.

"Earth is just as much my home as it yours," He said, "And if it's in danger then I want to be able to help."

"Right on," Rocky said, "Feel free to tag alone!" He patted the Space Ranger on the back.

With that settled they all went into their ship and fired it up.

They broke out of the atmosphere and Hayley wiped the tears from her face as she grabbed the controls and adjusted them before they entered the wormhole.

 **A/N: Well there we are, the end to that side of the story and one step closer to seeing the final confrontation. Next week will be a two chapter short about what is currently happening on Earth. Hope to see you there (:**


End file.
